Wild Children
by theypreferthetermpeople
Summary: Stef leaves Lena and the kids for a few hours one Saturday morning, which would normally be no big deal, but things go downhill quickly. Can Stef come home and save the day?


_A/N: Little (or not so little) gem for a Tumblr prompt. Some parenting, plus some bonus adamsfoster makeout time. Hope you like it!_

* * *

Though she would never admit it, Lena sometimes missed the days when the twins had just arrived and they were still withdrawn and fearful. Obviously she didn't miss watching them flinch any time Brandon raised his voice, or whenever Stef or Lena touched them, but she did miss the quiet. Mariana hadn't spoken for over a month after being placed with them, Jesús spoke only when spoken to, and Brandon restrained himself (on his moms' orders) so as not to frighten his new siblings. Now, though, over a year after the twins had joined their family, the three children were all almost equally rambunctious and, on many occasions, obnoxious. Today was no exception.  
It was a Saturday, which normally meant family time, but Stef had an important interview at the precinct about a job opening for a detective. She hadn't been with the force long enough to really warrant the promotion, and she wasn't expecting anything to come of it, but Lena had urged her to try, promising that she and the kids would be just fine for a few hours. 'Just fine' was relative, she supposed - technically there had been no bloodshed, at least not yet, so maybe everything was 'just fine.' Lena sighed from her perch on the couch in the den as Brandon ran past, screaming, Jesús right behind him.

"Hey, hey, no running in the house," she scolded, but the boys paid her no heed, taking the stairs two at a time in a thunder of tiny feet. "Boys!" she hollered, continuing the reprimand, but she was sure they couldn't hear her over their own shrieking.  
"Got you!" Jesús yelled, and there was a scuffle from directly above her head, which meant Brandon's bedroom.  
"Not fair!" Brandon shouted back, the noise continuing. "This is the safe zone!"  
"No, it's not! Moms' room is!" Jesús argued.  
"Boys!" Lena shouted again, still with no response, and another set of feet joined the tussle above her.  
"You never came to find me," Mariana's voice whined plaintively.  
"It's tag, not hide and go seek," her eldest brother replied snarkily. "Don't be a dumbo."  
"I'm not a dumbo!" Mariana yelled back. "Mama! Brandon called me a dumbo!"  
"Well, you're being dumb!" Brandon said, and a slap echoed from the upstairs. Lena gathered herself up, climbing quickly to Brandon's room, where she found Mariana standing with her arms crossed and her face bright pink, and Brandon and Jesús wrestling on the floor.

"Cut that out right now!" Lena reprimanded, her voice cutting. All three kids froze, turning their faces towards the door like sunflowers to the light.  
"He started it!" they all said at once, each pointing to someone else.  
"Brandon called me-" Mariana started to complain, but Brandon interrupted.  
"She was acting stupid!"  
"Don't insult my sister!"  
"She's my sister too!"  
"Well, you're not playing by the rules either!" Jesús was getting more worked up than the other two, his hands curling into angry fists and beginning to bang on his thighs. Lena quickly broke up the fight.  
"You all need to take a time-out." She held up her hand, quieting their instant protests. "I don't care who said or did what right now. Everyone needs to calm down. Bedrooms, now. I will come and tell you when you can leave, okay? Go." Her tone brokered no dissent, and the twins left quickly, each still scowling as they walked down the hall and into their rooms, Jesús' door slamming loudly.  
"Door slamming's not allowed," Brandon hastened to point out. "He should get a double time-out."  
"That's enough, mister," Lena chastised him. "You're on time-out, too." She pointed to his bed, and he reluctantly sat. "Why don't you use this time to think about what went wrong this afternoon, and how you could fix it." With that, she left his room, closing the door behind her.

After giving them all a few minutes to calm down, Lena decided to start with Mariana, who generally let go of grudges the quickest. She knocked lightly on her door, calling, "It's Mama. Can I come in?" A tearful "yes" answered her, and she pushed the door open to find Mariana crying on her bed.  
"Baby, what's wrong?" she asked, kneeling beside the bed, one hand on Mariana's knee, half-expecting her daughter's old tirade of fears about being sent away.  
"Brandon hit me!" she howled, her face scrunched up angrily. "I hate him!"  
Lena pulled back, amazed. Mariana didn't usually go in for vitriol. "He's going to apologize," she said soothingly, rubbing her thumb across Mariana's knee. "But you need to calm down some more first, I think. Can I give you a hug?" Mariana shook her head, crossing her arms and pouting. "Okay," Lena conceded, patting her thigh. "Why don't you take some deep breaths, love?"

Brandon was next on the list, as Jesús, judging from the thumps echoing from his room, was still throwing crumpled balls of paper, the coping technique Lena had taught him.  
"B?" Lena called, rapping lightly on his door. "Can we talk?"  
"No," Brandon yelled back stubbornly. "I hate you!"  
Lena felt her eyes widen. She hadn't even been involved in the altercation! How had this snowballed?  
"Alright, you need to take it down a notch," she said matter of factly through the door. "That was uncalled for, Brandon, and you're going to need to apologize. Are you ready to do that now or do you need some time?" Brandon didn't answer, and Lena took that to mean the latter.

All three kids were still upset, and she figured there was no use standing in the hall waiting for one of them to chill out. Lena went back downstairs, picking up her magazine and setting a timer on her phone for fifteen minutes, at which time she'd go back and check on the kids.  
Her peace was interrupted moments later by more shouting.  
"Go away! You're still on time-out!" Brandon yelled from upstairs.  
"Mama told me you were gonna apologize but I was gonna but maybe I won't anymore!" Mariana hollered back, and Lena, sighing, stood up and went to break up the fight.  
Brandon and Mariana were facing off in the hallway. Jesús was peeking through the crack of his door, eyeing the disagreement, ready to spring in if need be.  
"Both of you back in your rooms!" Lena ordered, mounting the stairs.  
"She started it!" Brandon whined, and his mum rolled her eyes in exasperation.  
"I don't care who did what," Lena replied, and suddenly all three kids were yelling. Yelling about how it wasn't their fault, how their siblings were to blame, how mad they were, and more. Over the noise came the sound of the lock clicking and the front door opening, and then footsteps.  
"What is going on here?" Stef demanded, appearing behind her wife and looking between the three screaming children. As they all began to direct their yelling at her, she held up one hand. "Rooms. Now. Or else." Her tone held a threatening heaviness that Lena could never in a million years achieve, and Mariana immediately stalked to her room, closing the door hard behind her. Brandon took a second longer, but another hairy eyeball from Stef sent him trudging down the hall as well. Jesús' door closed like a whisper, the last sight his flushed face, glaring at Lena.

"What in the name of-" Stef turned to Lena, confusion all over her face. "How did that happen?"  
Lena shook her head and took Stef's hand, leading her down the hall into their bedroom. Once they were safely behind the closed door, Lena sat down on the bed with a sigh.  
"The boys were playing tag downstairs and Mariana thought they were playing hide-and-go-seek, so she was hiding up here somewhere. B and Jesús didn't listen when I told them to stop running, and then they were wrestling, and Brandon insulted and slapped Mariana, so Jesús slapped Brandon, and I put them all in time-out, and Jesús slammed his door, and Mariana was crying, and she told me she hated Brandon, and then Brandon said he hated me, and then I told them they needed to take some more time to cool off, and I guess Mariana went to apologize to Brandon and he told her off for leaving her room, and they're all so loud, Stef," she finished, almost whining. "Why are they so loud?" She put a hand to her head, pressing on her temple.  
"Oh, love," Stef crooned, kissing her cheek in comfort. "Let me handle those rascals. You just lie down. Do you have a migraine?" Lena nodded, eyes closed. "I'm sorry, babe. I should've been home this morning." Lena started to protest, but Stef silenced her with a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right back."

Stef decided, like Lena had before her, to start with Mariana, knowing their daughter was generally the quickest to calm down. She found Mariana sitting on her floor, back against her bed, and, creakily, she sat down beside her.  
"Hey, love," she started. "I hear there were some issues today. Can you tell me your side of the story?"  
Mariana nodded, staring at the floor. "Brandon called me a dumbo because I was hiding in your closet and then he hit me so Jesús hit him but Jesús shouldn't get in trouble because it was Brandon's fault and then Mama sent us to our rooms and then I went to apologize to Brandon but Brandon yelled at me and it's all his fault." In true eight-year-old fashion, her entire story was one run-on sentence, spoken in one breath. Also in true eight-year-old fashion, she blamed her brother.  
"Thank you for trying to apologize, Mariana. You know name calling and hitting are wrong, and Brandon will have to say he's sorry. But you also know we don't yell in this house, and you're going to need to say you're sorry to both your brothers and to Mama. I'm gonna come back after I talk to the boys, okay?"  
Mariana grimaced and crossed her arms defiantly, but she nodded her agreement, and Stef gave her a kiss on the head and left.

Stef went to Jesús next, since he hadn't been involved in the portion of the conflict she'd witnessed.  
"Jesús, buddy? It's Mom. Can I come in?"  
She was greeted by an exasperated "fiiine" that sounded much too teenager-y for her young son, but she entered anyway, and went to sit beside him on the bed.  
"I hear some things went badly today. Can you tell me your side of the story?" Nonjudgmental, non-blaming. She was proud of that opener.  
"Brandon an' me was playing tag and I was it an' he ran into his room an' I caught him but he changed the rules an' said his room was the safe zone 'cept your room was so that's cheating. An' then Mariana thought we were playin' hide n' seek so she was hidin' but she came out an' Brandon called her a dumbo and hit her so I hit him cos even though I know hitting isn't good, he hit first, so it's okay, right?" Jesús looked hopefully at his mom, but her raised eyebrow and disapproving look sad very clearly that it wasn't okay. "Then Mama yelled at us an' put us on time-out and then I heard more yellin' so I peeked out and Brandon was yelling at Mariana but I didn't leave my room so I didn't break time-out like them." His story finished, the young boy flopped dejectedly over backward. Stef barely restrained a smile at his dramatics.  
"Alright, my sweet knucklehead, you know hitting is not okay, so you're going to need to apologize to Brandon. And you know we don't allow running in the house or yelling, so I'm guessing you know you need to apologize to Mama, too, yes?" Jesús rolled his head to the side to meet her eyes and nodded somberly. "Good boy," Stef praised, tickling his side lightly. "Why don't you go say sorry to Mama, okay? She's in our room. I'll go talk to Brandon and we will come meet you in there in a minute." Jesús squirmed at her touch and rolled off the bed, skipping to the door and down the hall. Stef smiled. He was a good boy, even if he sometimes let his temper best his self-control.

Brandon's door was open, but Stef still knocked lightly before entering, to warn him.  
"Hey, baby," she greeted his prone form. A small twitch of his foot was her only answer, his face buried in his arms. "I hear there were some problems this morning. You want to tell me what happened?" He shook his head, still refusing to look at her. "Okay, buddy, why don't I tell you what I know, then? I hear you called Mariana a mean name, and that you hit her and Jesús. I also heard you were running in the house and yelling. Brandon, you know none of those behaviours are acceptable in this house, and you're going to need to say you're sorry. Do you have anything to say for yourself first?"  
"I don't hate Mama," he mumbled into his arms.  
"What's that, B?" Stef asked, stroking his hair away from his face. He turned to look at her, his cheeks flushed.  
"I told Mama I hate her and that's a lie. Lying's bad and so is being mean."  
Stef smiled gently, cupping his chin in one hand. "Yes, that's true, and you should apologize to Mama for that, too. I'm sure she understands that you were angry, but I bet she'd like to hear you say sorry. Can we go do that now?" Her son nodded glumly, and the two made their way down the hall, with Stef pausing briefly to grab Mariana to join the apology train.

While Stef was talking to Brandon, Jesús had gone to speak to Lena, who he'd found sitting cross-legged on her bed, hair around her face in a fluffy cushion, head in hands.  
"Mama, are you crying?" came his small voice from the doorway, and Lena sat up, pushing her hair back behind her ears.  
"No, baby, I'm not. What are you doing here? Did Mom say you could leave your room?" Jesús nodded solemnly and clambered onto the foot of the bed, touching Lena's hand tentatively.  
"I'm sorry I runned and yelled," he said sadly, his eyes big and earnest. "That was naughty and I shoulda listened when you telled me to stop."  
"Thank you for saying that," Lena replied, squeezing his shoulder. "I accept your apology. Can I give you a hug?" Jesús nodded, and Lena embraced him briefly, careful not to squeeze him too long or too tightly. Jesús was never as much of a fan of cuddling as the other two, but he put up with it.

Stef and the other two kids came through the door moments later, one child on each side of their mother.  
"Brandon, would you like to go first?" Stef asked, pushing him forward a little bit. He had his hands clenched in little fists, and he turned to Mariana first.  
"I'm sorry I hit you and yelled at you and called you a mean name. I didn't mean it. Jesús, I'm sorry I hit you and yelled at you. Mama, I'm sorry I yelled and ran in the house and said I hate you. I don't hate you."  
"Mariana?" Stef prompted.  
"I accept your apology, Brandon," Mariana mumbled, and Jesús and Lena echoed her. "I'm sorry I yelled, too." She directed this last sentence at the room at large, and Lena and Brandon accepted her apology with smiles.  
"I'm sorry I hit you, Brandon," Jesús said, remarkably chipper considering the circumstances, but then, that was Jesús. "And sorry I yelled at you. I accept Mariana's apology too, even though she didn't even do anything really."  
"That's not important right now, Jesús," Stef reminded him. "I'm glad we've all apologized. Now can we-" Lena cut her off.  
"I haven't yet. Kids, I'm sorry I raised my voice. I shouldn't have lost my temper. Thank you all for apologizing."  
"Can we hug it out?" Stef suggested, smiling. "Mariana and B first." The two kids hugged each other carefully, neither overly excited about the embrace but both willing. "Boys next," Stef directed, and Jesús bounced down from the bed and threw his arms around Brandon, who submitted to the embrace without enthusiasm, but also without comment. "And can we all hug Mama now?" All three showed the most eagerness they had yet in climbing onto their moms' bed and wrapping their arms around Lena, who kissed each of their heads in turn.  
"Thank you," she said again earnestly, wrapping an arm around Mariana for an extra few seconds. "Can we all get along now?" Her babies nodded.  
"I'm gonna go play piano," Brandon volunteered, jumping off the bed and leaving the room.  
"I wanna read," said Mariana, wriggling out of Lena's embrace and hopping down as well.  
"Can I play video games?" Jesús requested hopefully, and after exchanging a look with her partner, Lena grudgingly said yes.

Now blissfully alone, and in a suddenly peaceful house, Stef crossed the room and took Lena into her arms, pressing a kiss to her hair.  
"That was quite the scene to come home to," she chuckled, and Lena looked up at her ruefully.  
"Thanks for wrangling them all. I don't know why tempers were running so high today, but I guess they were."  
"Parenting is something we share," Stef told her, smiling easily. "You don't need to thank me."  
"But I want to," Lena returned coyly, pressing a few kisses to the underside of Stef's jaw, a move she knew would guarantee a reaction. She wasn't disappointed; her partner squirmed eagerly, stretching her head up to offer more of her neck. Lena kissed trails up and down the side of her neck, pausing occasionally to nip and suck on the skin, but careful not to leave any marks. Hickeys and children did not mix, as they'd found out early on.  
"Lena, we have to-" Stef's protests were cut short when Lena covered her lips with her own, tracing their outline tenderly with her tongue before gently separating them. Stef pulled back again. "But we need-" This time Stef's sentence gave way to a quiet moan, almost a whimper, as Lena grazed her teeth down the side of her neck.  
"You were saying?" Lena murmured, a smile in her voice, as she slid a hand up Stef's shirt.  
"Dinner." Stef's reply was choked, distracted by her partner's featherlight touch on her sides and stomach.  
"Can wait," Lena finished, moving her left hand down onto Stef's cool skin, too, and playing with the edge of her no-nonsense sports bra.  
"Okay," Stef agreed, almost panting at Lena's teasing. With that, Lena pushed her down onto the bed, straddling her and grabbing both of her breasts at once, her teeth once against scraping at Stef's collarbone. She ran her thumbs over the already-erect nipples, the smooth Lycra bra trapping her hands against Stef's chest.  
"You're so hot," Lena mumbled, sweeping her mouth back up to Stef's.  
"You. Too," Stef ground out, breath catching in her throat as Lena pinched her nipple in the middle of her reply.  
As always, though, their pleasure was interrupted prematurely by a small voice at the doorway.  
"Mommy? Mama?"  
Lena pulled her hands surreptitiously out of Stef's shirt and rolled over, sitting up in tandem with her partner. Mariana stood at the door, her hands twisted anxiously in her shirt.  
"What's wrong, baby?" Lena spoke first, as Stef was still recovering her voice. Mariana shrugged, staring at her feet.  
"Come here, love," Stef invited, patting the bed between them. Their daughter accepted the invitation eagerly, leaning against first Stef and then Lena, her thumb stuck firmly in her mouth in comfort.  
"What's wrong?" Lena asked again, reaching over and pulling her fist gently away from her face. "Did something happen?" Mariana didn't answer.  
"Mariana?" Stef asked, waiting for her daughter to meet her eyes before continuing. "Are you afraid of being sent away again?" Her tone was tender. She'd seen this reaction coming a mile off. Mariana nodded slowly, letting her gaze fall back to her lap.  
"Because Mama got mad?" Stef prompted, and Mariana nodded again.  
"Oh, baby," Lena breathed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her onto her lap. "I love you so much, sweetheart." She levered Mariana's face up with one finger under her chin. "You know that, right? I would never ever in a million years want to lose my Mariana." She kissed her forehead gently. "I'm sorry I yelled today. I got frustrated. Sometimes that happens, even to moms. But it never means that I don't love you, okay?" Mariana nodded shakily, resting her head against Lena's chest. "Good girl," Lena said, rubbing her back.  
"I'm going to leave you two ladies while I start dinner, alright?" Stef broke the brief silence with a smile. She kissed both Mariana and Lena, the first on the head, the latter on the lips. "I'll call you when food is ready." And she left her partner and daughter curled together in the bed, rocking gently.


End file.
